Nepal vs Sri Lanka - cracking contest on the cards if the rain stays away

Nepal have been on a winning streak, but whether they can continue that run against Sri Lanka, who have lost their last four T20Is, depends on the weather

Big picture - Sri Lanka to go through in case of a washout

The last time Nepal and Sri Lanka were slated to take each other on in a T20I fixture (at the 2024 T20 World Cup), it was washed out without even the toss. That's how things could unfold in their next game too, on Tuesday, as torrential rain continues to play spoilsport at the Asian Games men's cricket competition.

The last four games in the competition have had three washouts without the toss taking place, and one was abandoned after 15 overs. If the same fate befalls the Nepal vs Sri Lanka game, it favours Sri Lanka, who will go through to the semi-finals, like India and Pakistan, for being the higher-seeded team. The winners will take on India.RelatedPakistan through to semis after washout vs Hong Kong

Washout against Afghanistan sends India into semis

Dickwella in SL T20I squad for the first time since 2021

Nepal had a cracking start in the tournament when they took down Afghanistan - a second-string side, though - who are ranked four slots higher than them, led by their spinners Kushal Bhurtel and Lalit Rajbanshi. It extended their T20I winning streak to six games, in which they have beaten six different oppositions across three countries. Not long before that streak started, Nepal had flown the Associates flag flying at the T20 World Cup when they gave England an almighty scare and then brought Scotland down with a riot of a victory in Mumbai.

If the rain relents in Nisshin, Nepal will back themselves against a team that is on a losing streak. Sri Lanka were blanked 3-0 in England just ten days ago where they were unable to reach 150 even once while England scored at 12 an over or more in each of the games. Before that, they also lost the T20Is 2-1 in the Caribbean and had exited the T20 World Cup with four losses on the bounce, including one to Zimbabwe.

The last time Sri Lanka won a game was in June. The last time they scored over 150 was also in June. The last time they breached 200 was in February. It could be an engrossing contest.

Form guide

Nepal WWWWW (last five completed games, most recent first)

Sri Lanka LLLLWNiroshan Dickwella is back in the T20I scheme of things•SLC

In the spotlight: Kushal Bhurtel and Niroshan Dickwella

Kushal Bhurtel is coming off a couple of low scores in the tournament but he is Nepal's leading scorer this year with a tally of 522, at a strike rate of 180 and an average of 47.45. Last month, Bhurtel scored three consecutive half-centuries and five straight 35-plus scores in the Top End Series in Australia, against teams from Australia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. He also has three T20I hundreds and his power-packed batting could prove to be a handful for the inexperienced Sri Lanka attack.

Niroshan Dickwella last played a T20I in 2021 and he is back in the scheme of things despite an underwhelming LPL a couple of months ago, where he scored only 110 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 142.85 while averaging 18.33. He has, however, been among the runs of late, and scored a brisk 80 off 115 balls in the first Test against India. If he gets to bat on Tuesday, this could be a great chance for Dickwella to show why he was once an all-format regular for Sri Lanka.

Team news

Nepal will bank on their experience, especially the bowlers, in damp conditions.

Nepal (probable): 1 Kushal Bhurtel, 2 Aasif Sheikh (wk), 3 Sundeep Jora, 4 Kushal Malla, 5 Gulsan Jha, 6 Lokesh Bam, 7 Rohit Paudel, 8 Dipendra Singh Airee (capt), 9 Sandeep Lamichhane, 10 Lalit Rajbanshi, 11 Sompal Kami

Sri Lanka - like most other Full Member sides in the tournament, barring India - have sent an inexperienced squad to Japan. Ashen Bandara and Dickwella have returned to the national side while the squad, which has four uncapped players, is being led by Sahan Arachchige.

Sri Lanka (probable): 1 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 2 Lasith Croospulle, 3 Sahan Arachchige (capt), 4 Nuwanidu Fernando, 5 Ashen Bandara, 6 Chamika Karunaratne, 7 Tharindu Ratnayake, 8 Wanuja Sahan, 9 Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, 10 Nuwan Thushara, 11 Binura FernandoRain has been a constant in NIsshin for the past few days•CREIMAS

Pitch and conditions

Not a ball has been bowled in Nisshin since Saturday, when Nepal had raced to 149 for 4 in 15 overs against the hosts before rain washed the game out. There is, unfortunately, a lot of rain forecast for Tuesday too, at least until 6pm local time, with the match scheduled for a 9am local time start.

Stats and trivia

Sri Lanka have won only one out of their last ten T20Is.

Out of the top five run-getters in T20s from the two squads (not just T20Is), Dickwella (3323) is the only Sri Lankan; the other four are from Nepal: Bhurtel (2503), Dipendra Singh Airee (2341), Rohit Paudel (2212) and Aasif Sheikh (1987).